This invention relates to a baton or truncheon (herein called a baton).
Batons are in common use by police forces and security services as offensive and defensive weapons. Until recent times batons have usually been made in a fixed length and configuration, with a range of lengths available to meet specific requirements of users. Telescopically extendable batons have also been proposed.
A type of baton is known which includes a side handle in addition to a handle generally in line with the main body or shaft of the baton. The side handle is fixed at right angles or thereabouts to the line of the main shaft and handle. Because of its origins and configuration, this type of baton is commonly referred to as the American side-handled baton.
For certain users, notably the British police forces, it is general practice for an officer to carry a baton concealed. This presents practical limitations on the type of baton which can be carried, in that the length of the baton is restricted. It is difficult to carry a side-handled baton, or indeed anything other than a short straight baton, concealed.
Accordingly it is the object of the present invention to provide a baton which overcomes or reduces such limitations.